Let’s see, what’s on the menu today….

 

The Good

 

Shawarma Express, Suipacha 877, Centro [w3w: instance.purist.landed] – It’s no wow, but it’s a good shawarma at this little hole in the wall with no air conditioning or fans, making it, on a hot summer day, like sitting in an oven. Choice of chicken or beef. And they also have falafel. That’s pretty much it, other than some pastry type snacks. A simple flatbread, a bit of onion, lettuce, and tomato, decent quality meat – maybe a touch salty, great yogurt sauce and even better hot sauce, which they were willing to slather on as much as I wanted. 110 pesos, less than $3, and a filling meal. On a hot summer day, get it to go, it’ll be cooler outside, even if you’re not in the shade.

As a note, this place used to be a block away and on the other side of the street, and was awful. So… huge improvement!

 

The Bad, and The Ugly

 

We’ve all seen beautiful pictures on the internet of the latest trend in sushi presentation – doughnuts (or, more commonly, donuts), and burgers. We’re not really talking about anything all that out there in terms of the sushi itself, it’s just a pretty way of presenting it – it’s still sushi rice, and raw fish and some garnishes and condiments. And the “burgers” are simply sushi rice in the shape of a bun, or an english muffin, sandwiching much the same. So when I heard a new spot had opened that was offering these up, I headed out there.

Freakin’ Sushi, 3 de Febrero 2765, Nuñez [w3w: bleak.offer.bongo] – But, trust it to the local “salmon and cream cheese sushi” mafia to totally screw it up. What? How dare you? Sushi was practically invented in Argentina! It’s the best of anywhere! Salmon is the only fish to be used for sushi! Cream cheese is king! Now, on their Instagram feed, this place has all sorts of photos of similar, beautiful donuts and burgers, bursting with fresh salmon and avocados and garnishes. But somehow…

…it seems that those don’t actually exist (in fact, I showed the Instagram feed to my waitress who looked at it, puzzled, and told me she had no idea what most of the pictures were of, but certainly not things on their menu, at least not since she started working there). Everything I saw was overcooked salmon, cheese, and oh… the rice. The “sushi donut bagel” turns out to be a breaded sushi rice ball, deep fried, then cut in half and filled with cooked salmon, chive cream cheese, and caramelized onions. Kind of like a really badly made arancini.

The “ninja burger” is a sandwich of two pucks of gummy bear textured compressed rice, colored with squid ink, and filled with cooked salmon and blue cheese. Now, I’d even consider giving them a pass if, although not “sushi”, these were good little sandwiches, but they’re not. They’re near inedible, particularly the “buns” on both dishes. And at 160 and 380 pesos, respectively, these ain’t cheap. Pass, all around.

Sorry about the lighting, but they’ve chosen purple light to bathe the room, and I should have used a flash. This was as best I could clean them up. And I’m not going back to try it again.

 

You know nothing Jon Snow…

 

This place, Los Chanchitos Parrilla, Angel Gallardo 601, Villa Crespo [w3w: stormy.gave.closes], was on my list as a recommended steakhouse, particularly for their matambre and matambrito de cerdo, basically, thin flank steaks. But review after review mentioned their pizzanesa, which is, more or less, just a milanesa (weiner schnitzel) in a big round pizza shape. And, apparently these guys are the originators of the concept. I do love a good milanesa, and, as one reviewer put it – “If you think you know pizzanesas, come here. You know nothing.”

Old school steakhouse feel, waiters as old as the restaurant, but friendly and helpful. The pizzanesa comes in two sizes, one for 2 people, one for 3-4 people. My waiter asserted I could always take the balance home for dinner, and I’d want to, he assured me. And damn, he was right. Pounded thin rump steak, still juicy and flavorful, in a paper thin, absolutely crisp fried to a golden brown crust, topped with zesty tomato sauce, plenty of good mozzarella, prosciutto, arugula, shaved parmesan, and olives (they have other selections of toppings as well). I actually made it through about 2/3 of it and then dutifully packed up the balance for Henry to eat later. It ain’t cheap – 580 pesos – but it really is enough to feed two, so it’s not all that expensive. And, absolutely delicious!

 

You always remember your first. Even if it wasn’t your first.

 

Let’s start with an oldie, but goodie. I’ve had it in the back of my mind, for years, that Desnivel, Defensa 855, San Telmo [encounter.prongs.fight] (and not “El Desnivel” as I wrote there) was the very first parrilla I ever ate at in Buenos Aires, back during my first two week vacation here. But it turns out that that memory is faulty, as, when I go back and search for it, I find a later review, from January 2006, wherein I state that while it was recommended to me when I first vacationed here, it had been closed for renovation and I hadn’t eaten there. However, over the years, I’ve eaten there probably a dozen times, and always had a very good meal. So, this is more just a “bump” post for them.

 

We split an entraña, hanger steak, certainly big enough for two to share (500 pesos). Asked for and received, rare. Properly seasoned, virtually no gristle, everything an entraña should be.

A couple of side salads because, a) we wanted different salads, and b) we’d forgotten how big they are. But hey, packing in the greens is not a bad thing. My lunch companion got a mixed salad with added beets, I got one of my favorites, radichetta and parmesan. (120 pesos each – a steal – since you could make an entire lunch out of just the salad.) Remains as one of my recommended spots!